Is it overkill?

burg1801

So I've been wondering if my workout is a bit ... drastic. I've been lurking in the forums, reading other plans but I haven't found one like mine.

Basically, I try to burn off just about everything I eat calorie wise. I'd do 90 minutes a day on the elliptical at max (mine is Level 25) and I usually hit 2000+ every morning. I don't feel beat up from it or worn out. I'm keeping myself within the heart rate I should be for my age and I eat between 1500 to 1800 calories on average.

Anyone doing something similar or have any advice?

EDIT: I guess I should have said I'm burning off close to what I'm projected to be eating (right now it's 2100, I get between 1900 and 2000) then the rest of the day I eat.

AnninStPaul

Search the forums on starvation mode and eating back exercise calories...

AntWrig

So I've been wondering if my workout is a bit ... drastic. I've been lurking in the forums, reading other plans but I haven't found one like mine.

Basically, I try to burn off just about everything I eat calorie wise. I'd do 90 minutes a day on the elliptical at max (mine is Level 25) and I usually hit 2000+ every morning. I don't feel beat up from it or worn out. I'm keeping myself within the heart rate I should be for my age and I eat between 1500 to 1800 calories on average.

Anyone doing something similar or have any advice?

What are you doing?

What is your height/weight?

MB_Positif

I won't give the starvation mode speech...however, if you burn everything you eat that means you are basically eating nothing. You will eventually burn out and get tired and probably binge eat. If you are set to lose weight, an appropriate calorie deficit is already in place here on MFP. That is enough to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. If you keep doing what you are doing you will lose weight, but a lot of that weight could be muscle mass as well. I assume you are not going for a stick skinny look are you? Easy advice. Eat more!

Chairless

Energy has to come from somewhere, probably going to lose a fair whack of muscle doing that.

chauser1022

I have been doing something similar. I work out 2 hours a day at least 3 or 4 days a week and then the other days I do 1 hour. It works for me. My trainer says if my body feels tired to take a break from it. He also says if I feel hungry to eat more. I think it is a very individual decision. And wow...elliptical at level 25!!

rochey1098

Energy has to come from somewhere, probably going to lose a fair whack of muscle doing that.

This is my understanding, yes you can starve yourself and lose weight but why bother. Gaining muscle is much harder than losing fat so you might as well take it easy.

sciencenerd2011

I'm not a professional, but I think that is overkill. You may be doing more harm to your body than good.

BIGJIMMYU

I would suggest rest is the problem. The last plateau I hit nothing worked until I went two days on, then one day off repeating. It seems at least to me it wasn't my workout, but I wasn't giving my muscle tears enough time to fill in with protein. As you know, muscle does not grow while doing the exercise, but grows while after at rest.

Di3012

So I've been wondering if my workout is a bit ... drastic. I've been lurking in the forums, reading other plans but I haven't found one like mine.

Basically, I try to burn off just about everything I eat calorie wise. I'd do 90 minutes a day on the elliptical at max (mine is Level 25) and I usually hit 2000+ every morning. I don't feel beat up from it or worn out. I'm keeping myself within the heart rate I should be for my age and I eat between 1500 to 1800 calories on average.

Anyone doing something similar or have any advice?

So if you burn off everything you eat, what, may I ask, does your body use as energy from calories for simple things such as heartbeat, brain function and all the functions that your internal organs HAVE to complete?

Not only what you are doing is overkill, it is downright dangerous and I am not talking about any starvation mode either!

burg1801

So I've been wondering if my workout is a bit ... drastic. I've been lurking in the forums, reading other plans but I haven't found one like mine.

Basically, I try to burn off just about everything I eat calorie wise. I'd do 90 minutes a day on the elliptical at max (mine is Level 25) and I usually hit 2000+ every morning. I don't feel beat up from it or worn out. I'm keeping myself within the heart rate I should be for my age and I eat between 1500 to 1800 calories on average.

Anyone doing something similar or have any advice?

What are you doing?

What is your height/weight?

I do 90 mins on the elliptical daily

My height is 6'2" and current weight is 317

AntWrig

So I've been wondering if my workout is a bit ... drastic. I've been lurking in the forums, reading other plans but I haven't found one like mine.

Basically, I try to burn off just about everything I eat calorie wise. I'd do 90 minutes a day on the elliptical at max (mine is Level 25) and I usually hit 2000+ every morning. I don't feel beat up from it or worn out. I'm keeping myself within the heart rate I should be for my age and I eat between 1500 to 1800 calories on average.

Anyone doing something similar or have any advice?

What are you doing?

What is your height/weight?

I do 90 mins on the elliptical daily

My height is 6'2" and current weight is 317

You're better off going into a deficit on both training and off days. Hit the weights hard and walk! You will preserve the muscle now and it's makes things so much easier. Look at the long term.

It's much easier to burn fat, than it is to build muscle.

burg1801

So I've been wondering if my workout is a bit ... drastic. I've been lurking in the forums, reading other plans but I haven't found one like mine.

Basically, I try to burn off just about everything I eat calorie wise. I'd do 90 minutes a day on the elliptical at max (mine is Level 25) and I usually hit 2000+ every morning. I don't feel beat up from it or worn out. I'm keeping myself within the heart rate I should be for my age and I eat between 1500 to 1800 calories on average.

Anyone doing something similar or have any advice?

So if you burn off everything you eat, what, may I ask, does your body use as energy from calories for simple things such as heartbeat, brain function and all the functions that your internal organs HAVE to complete?

Not only what you are doing is overkill, it is downright dangerous and I am not talking about any starvation mode either!

Does it matter the order in which I do it? For example, I work out in the morning after eating breakfast and the rest of the day I'm pretty much working my desk job. I eat snacks, drink water and green tea, and eat normal meals throughout the day.

rochey1098

Does it matter the order in which I do it? For example, I work out in the morning after eating breakfast and the rest of the day I'm pretty much working my desk job. I eat snacks, drink water and green tea, and eat normal meals throughout the day.

Do what feels more comfortable for you. I personally don't like exercising before breaking the night's fast

lind3400

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

marycmeadows

you should not be at negative or 0 net calories for the day. not healthy, IMO.

rochey1098

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

I wish I could forget what cheesecake tastes like though... doubt it's worth gambling. Knowing my luck I'd lose something important :laugh:

ZarrX86

To me the real question here is are you really burning off 2000 calories in a 90 minute elliptical excersice? Im not saying your lying but i think the general consensus for the accuracy of those machines are that they arent very accurate.

engineman312

i'm about an inch taller then you, but you are a fair amount heavier then i was when i started trying to get into shape.

if i can go back to when i started, i would tell myself to start strength training. yes, even over weight. and you don't have to do tons and tons of weights. push ups, pull ups, lunges, and body weight squats are the best body weight work outs.

i'm a bit of a cardio nut, but i don't do more then one 1-hour+ session of cardio every seven to ten days. spending more then 60 minutes on the elliptical, or any kind of cardio machine, is just over kill, in my opinion. the only reason you should do long long cardio is if you are training for a distance event, like a half marathon or a century (100 mile bike ride).

if i were you, i would start changing my routine. do 30 minutes of cardio, and then go do a body weight work out. do 20 body weight squats, 10 push ups, 20 lunges, 10 dumb bell rows (using a milk jug filled with water if you are at home), a 15 second plank, and then 30 jumping jacks. repeat this circuit 2-3 times.

taso42

This is eating disorder / exercise bulimia territory.

lind3400

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

I wish I could forget what cheesecake tastes like though... doubt it's worth gambling. Knowing my luck I'd lose something important :laugh:

I feel the same way about potato chips

Live4Hurdles

If you are doing 90 min a day on the eliptical I find it hard to believe you are burning close to 2000 cal a day. The equivenant of burning 2000 cals is jogging 20 miles. You should feel like you are running a marathon everyday if that was the case! Try jogging for 90 minutes (or even 30 minutes) and see how much more worn out you feel and the machine will say you have burned less calories, which will be discouraging, but also point out the calculations on the eliptical might be a bit off.

Good to see you are keeping track of your heart rate during exercising and concerned about being healthy while losing weight. Keep up the good work! If its working for you and you see results, but you arent starving yourself, then i say keep doing what youre doing.

CoryIda

This is eating disorder / exercise bulimia territory.

This. Please eat. Your body needs fuel to function. If you are burning more fuel than you are putting in, your body is going to get very sick.

You CAN get fit and healthy without resorting to drastic measures (I'm proof of that).

So cut down your cardio, add some strength, and EAT!

UsedToBeHusky

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

The brain may need 500 cal to function but I promise you he has more than 500 cals of stored fat and potential muscle at 6'2" and 317 lbs. Please don't use ignorance and scare tactics. You are only disseminating misinformation. He his not going to wind up with brain damage from overtraining!!

Actually... OP, what is most likely to happen is that you will strain the muscles you are working and cause yourself an injury.

burg1801

To me the real question here is are you really burning off 2000 calories in a 90 minute elliptical excersice? Im not saying your lying but i think the general consensus for the accuracy of those machines are that they arent very accurate.

That I honestly don't know. I currently use LifeFitness ellipticals and that's the read out I get. But I've tried others and get a different read, only off by 200 or so.

Seems like the overall consensus here is that I'm not eating enough. Hm.. I'm certainly not trying to starve myself so I'll take it easy on the cardio.

Thanks for the advice.

StevLL

I would cut back the elliptical and start some weight training. I have kept my muscle mass up over the years and it has helped now that I'm finally getting serious. I am 6'1" and started at 371lbs and I think the strength training with cardio is the best way to get lean and sculpt at the same time. I'm not an expert, but that is what's working for me. If you need some support friend me we are close in size. Good luck!

BTW I'm eating 2350 cals and sometimes I eat my cals back and I try not to let my net cals go below 1600 for the day. It's not a fast way to lose weight, but it's been steady and I will preobably end my first year at 75 lbs lost. Not a as big as others, but working for me. I try to keep my carbs under 165grams and my protein over 200grams.

lind3400

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

The brain may need 500 cal to function but I promise you he has more than 500 cals of stored fat and potential muscle at 6'2" and 317 lbs. Please don't use ignorance and scare tactics. You are only disseminating misinformation. He his not going to wind up with brain damage from overtraining!!

How dare you....that was totally uncalled for soemone else posted this on the site and she is a neuro-psychologist...don't eb rude to me he asked so I shared a fact with him not as a scare tactic but as a helpful MFP member so keep your rudeness to yourself please

UsedToBeHusky

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

The brain may need 500 cal to function but I promise you he has more than 500 cals of stored fat and potential muscle at 6'2" and 317 lbs. Please don't use ignorance and scare tactics. You are only disseminating misinformation. He his not going to wind up with brain damage from overtraining!!

How dare you....that was totally uncalled for soemone else posted this on the site and she is a neuro-psychologist...don't eb rude to me he asked so I shared a fact with him not as a scare tactic but as a helpful MFP member so keep your rudeness to yourself please

I don't think I was being rude at all. You posted something you saw that someone else posted that claimed to know the science behind it. There is no documented proof that working out leads to brain damage. That is just ignorant!

lind3400

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

The brain may need 500 cal to function but I promise you he has more than 500 cals of stored fat and potential muscle at 6'2" and 317 lbs. Please don't use ignorance and scare tactics. You are only disseminating misinformation. He his not going to wind up with brain damage from overtraining!!

How dare you....that was totally uncalled for soemone else posted this on the site and she is a neuro-psychologist...don't eb rude to me he asked so I shared a fact with him not as a scare tactic but as a helpful MFP member so keep your rudeness to yourself please

I don't think I was being rude at all. You posted something you saw that someone else posted that claimed to know the science behind it. There is no documented proof that working out leads to brain damage. That is just ignorant!

Unless you have proof too why dont you give your own information and leave mine alone

UsedToBeHusky

your brain needs 500 cals to function properly, brain damage won't help you lose weight

The brain may need 500 cal to function but I promise you he has more than 500 cals of stored fat and potential muscle at 6'2" and 317 lbs. Please don't use ignorance and scare tactics. You are only disseminating misinformation. He his not going to wind up with brain damage from overtraining!!

How dare you....that was totally uncalled for soemone else posted this on the site and she is a neuro-psychologist...don't eb rude to me he asked so I shared a fact with him not as a scare tactic but as a helpful MFP member so keep your rudeness to yourself please

I don't think I was being rude at all. You posted something you saw that someone else posted that claimed to know the science behind it. There is no documented proof that working out leads to brain damage. That is just ignorant!

Unless you have proof too why dont you give your own information and leave mine alone

Because a statement like that is dangerous. I don't need to prove that overtraining doesn't cause brain damage because it is ludicrous to make that assumption in the first place. You made the claim... now you support it!!

engineman312

come on. don't hijack the thread.